District plans to build, whether they come or not

Facing modest growth over the next decade, the San Dieguito Union High School District is nevertheless planning for several modernization projects, a possible high school expansion and a new middle school over the long term.

A lot of what happens depends on how the Pacific Highlands Ranch area, at the south end of the school district near Canyon Crest Academy, grows in coming years. But district officials say it's clear that several campuses will need to be upgraded regardless of growth.

The public school district, which has 12,500 middle and high school students at nine campuses from south Carlsbad to Carmel Valley, recently launched a planning process to prioritize school improvements and new construction projects.

A list of recommendations is expected to go to the school board this summer.

The project furthest along is a planned performing arts center at the 71-year-old San Dieguito Academy campus, the district's oldest. The $9.5 million center will finally give the school's young musicians and actors a central place where student artistry is honed and celebrated.

Construction could begin this summer, if the state releases more than $7 million that is now frozen because of the state budget crisis, said Stephen Ma, associate superintendent for business services. The district has set aside an additional $1.8 million for the project, and the school's foundation has raised $1 million more.

“There's a wonderful program for performing arts at the academy, and they certainly deserve a venue that is equal to the caliber of the program,” said Joyce Dalessandro, a district trustee. “This has been a dream for a long time.”

The work at San Dieguito is intended to provide students there with facilities comparable to those enjoyed by students at other high schools, including Canyon Crest Academy, which opened in the fall of 2006.

There are several equity issues that the district wants to address in coming years to make facilities at all of its middle and high school campuses more uniform, Ma said.

Among the projects the district is considering:

Upgrading older school gyms so they compare from campus to campus.

Updating science classrooms, particularly at Torrey Pines High School and San Dieguito Academy.

Adding multimedia technology to campuses that don't yet have it, including Earl Warren Middle School, and improving it at other campuses, such as Carmel Valley Middle School.

Installing artificial turf and synthetic tracks at campuses that don't have it, such as San Dieguito and Canyon Crest academies.

New school construction, meanwhile, will be focused on the south end of the school district over the next several years, Ma said.

Enrollment is expected to be largely flat over the next decade, although it could increase by 1,100 students, Ma said. Most of that growth is projected to occur in the Pacific Highlands Ranch area near Canyon Crest Academy. That could require an expansion of Canyon Crest and possibly a new middle school.

Continued growth at Pacific Highlands Ranch is expected to depend in part on whether an on-ramp from state Route 56 to northbound I-5 is built, Ma said. Once that happens, he said, there will be a potential for 3,000 more homes in that area.

To accommodate that kind of growth, Canyon Crest Academy has space to expand from 1,800 students to 2,400 students. Land adjacent the academy, meanwhile, is earmarked for a middle school.